France

The French tax system for the promotion of efficient cars

The French Grenelle de l’Environnement may not be as advanced as it should be, but one of its first part is already in place since January 1st. It is a huge success. Since this date, if you buy a car in France you may be the subject of a price reduction or an additional tax […]

The French tax system for the promotion of efficient cars Read More »

How I avoided 200 kgs of CO2 emissions in ten days

Two weeks ago I took some vacations and visited my family near Nancy. Additionally, I went to the renewable energies fair in Paris. It was also the opportunity for me to have a most interesting meeting. All this brought me to travel up to 1,600 kilometers (approx. 1,000 miles). By choosing the train instead of

How I avoided 200 kgs of CO2 emissions in ten days Read More »

Renewable energies and the fears of recession

In two different articles, Les Echos [Fr] and the IHT are fearing that the current fears of recession might endanger the expansion of renewable energies. Indeed the IHT noticed a drop in stocks of these companies and Les Echos reported a fear that the French government might not respect its Grenelle’s commitments. Indeed, as the

Renewable energies and the fears of recession Read More »

The Carbon Atlas : see your country’s carbon emissions

The UK newspaper The Guardian published last December a fantastic map displaying all countries and their respective carbon emissions. Very visual, it enables us to see easily who are the largest carbon emitters and even the thumbnail on your left shows the huge importance the USA and China have. According to this rating, France is

The Carbon Atlas : see your country’s carbon emissions Read More »

Oil prices reached 110 USD a barrel !

That’s it, yesterday at the New York Mercantile Exchange the oil prices reached $110 for the first time in History. This occurs only two months and a half after it reached $100. This can be explained by the fact that the Dollar is weakening as time goes and as now the Euro is worth $1.55.

Oil prices reached 110 USD a barrel ! Read More »

The AGV, the new fast train by Alstom

Alstom unveiled yesterday its AGV, which is the successor of the TGV (train à grande vitesse, fast speed train) a huge success for the company. The AGV brings several improvements compared to the previous model as it goes faster – 360 kilometers per hour compared to 320 – and consumes less energy. This will make

The AGV, the new fast train by Alstom Read More »

A record breaking electricity consumption in France

The current temperatures in France are six degrees below average and this led to a record-breaking electricity consumption. Last night the level of energy consumption rose to 88 960 MW, compared to the previous record of 86 280 MW in January 2006. It is estimated by the Réseau de transport d’électricité that when temperature decreases

A record breaking electricity consumption in France Read More »

EPR reactor is being built in France

According to the French daily Le Figaro in its Monday edition, the construction of the first EPR reactor in France has begun and is going on well. The EPR technology provides several improvements to the current nuclear plants, including increased yield and security, decreased waste and radiations. This reactor will be operational in 2012 and

EPR reactor is being built in France Read More »

Further on le Grenelle de l’Environnement

Many of my international readers have been willing to know more on le Grenelle de l’Environnement and the decisions that have been taken afterwards. They can rejoice as the concluding speech by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been translated into English, Spanish and German. You can access to the Adobe’s PDF full versions on

Further on le Grenelle de l’Environnement Read More »

Waste management in France

This week in France takes place a series of events that are due to reduce the amount of waste produced. This is important as we are now producing nearly a kilogram per habitant per day. All this makes for the total population the equivalent of 2.800 Eiffel Tower. (or 28 million kilograms of waste each

Waste management in France Read More »